Gold prices were trading steady in the overnight session Tuesday after sharp back-to-back declines knocked the yellow metal off two-week highs.December gold futures were trading at $1,342.10 a troy ounce at 1:48 am GMT, little changed from the previous close. Gold prices are down 1.2% over the past two days.Despite the recent downtrend, the outlook on gold and other precious metals remains robust heading into 2017. According to Zurich-based financial services company Credit Suisse, gold prices will reach $1,500 a troy ounce through the early part of 2017. Analysts at the bank say that gold’s upturn reflects not just a post-Brexit bounce, but a “more enduring” environment of political uncertainty and risk-off sentiment that is being driven by expectations for continued low-rate stimulus in the United States and abroad.Gold’s impressive rally began early this year and has endured long after Brexit. However, gains have slowed considerably in recent months, with returns turning negative in August. Since the start of the month, gold futures are down 1.3%.The US dollar index was little changed Tuesday after ending flat during the previous session. The dollar has been under pressure for the past two weeks amid conflicting monetary policy signals from the Federal Reserve.Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will make headlines on Friday morning when she delivers a speech to the annual Jackson Hole Symposium of central bankers, policymakers and academics. Yellen’s speech could provide important rate-hike cues to a market struggling to determine the outlook on monetary policy.In economic data, Japan’s manufacturing sector contracted for a sixth consecutive month in August, but a key indicator of output expanded for the first time since February. The flash Markit/Nikkei Japan PMI rose to 49.6 in August from 49.3 the previous month. The reading was slightly above the median estimate calling for 49.5.
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